duvey 245 Report post Posted December 12, 2015 (edited) Thought I had better start a project thread for the M30 swap I'm undertaking on my E30. Used to be an m20b20. Then I put in a m20b25. Now moar CCs. Picked up a nice factory manual 535i. Picked up the rear end from the black 325i vert Brent is wrecking (medium case diff). Wire wheeled the rear subframe and repainted. Engine out of the 535i. Rest of the e34 i'm parting out so if you want anything let me know. Drove this around for a while. Was cool. Head is now off. There is some cam wear, so the plan is to get the cam reconditioned and the head rebuilt & skimmed by 1mm to make 10:1 compression. Bore looks good to me - will leave the bottom end intact. Got a bunch of refresh parts already, and am waiting on more. Will likely take me a few months to complete - just taking things slowly and doing things properly. Cheersies. Edited December 12, 2015 by duvey 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
duvey 245 Report post Posted December 12, 2015 Engine mounts are already on their way. Will be using Garagistic's offering. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ahmedsinc 414 Report post Posted December 12, 2015 No replacement for displacement! Factory hone marks on old engines gives me warm fuzzies - how many km had the donor done? 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
duvey 245 Report post Posted December 12, 2015 No replacement for displacement! Factory hone marks on old engines gives me warm fuzzies - how many km had the donor done? ~220k. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_BRS_ 209 Report post Posted December 12, 2015 Nice work, Garagistic have some quality parts 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jonoe30 53 Report post Posted December 12, 2015 Very cool... love the M30 engines - will you be popping an LSD into the open diff? Atlantis-blau has to be my favourite E30 colour... don't see many around these days! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
duvey 245 Report post Posted December 12, 2015 Very cool... love the M30 engines - will you be popping an LSD into the open diff? Atlantis-blau has to be my favourite E30 colour... don't see many around these days! Thanks. Yeah - pretty legendary engines. Eventually, yep. Will get it the swap all ironed out first though. One of my favorite e30 colours too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael. 2313 Report post Posted December 12, 2015 Awesome haha! Good to see you're not mucking around! 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
duvey 245 Report post Posted December 15, 2015 Dropped the head out to Dougs Engineering in Pukekohe for a rebuild. Cam going to Franklin Cams to get built up and reground. These also arrived. Progress! 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tristan 338 Report post Posted December 15, 2015 Cool project. You got me super excited with the colour Atlantis Blue... But this must be an old Atlantis Blue? BMW has since changed it to a far more vibrant blue. Pictured.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
duvey 245 Report post Posted December 17, 2015 Cool project. You got me super excited with the colour Atlantis Blue... But this must be an old Atlantis Blue? BMW has since changed it to a far more vibrant blue. Pictured.. Yeah, very different colours, the old and the new. I like them both! More parts arrived from Gavin. Thanks! Cam has been reconditioned. Going back into the head and should have the head back sometime next week. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
duvey 245 Report post Posted December 28, 2015 Just been fiddling around and making slow progress. Sump off, cleaned the sump then back on again. Cleaned off the deck with a razor blade, degreased the block and pistons etc. Installed a new water pump. Also tidied up and de-scaled the thermostat housing and installed a new thermostat. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BM WORLD 1283 Report post Posted December 28, 2015 nice ,. have some 10:1 compression pistons if you want to upgrade that bad boy 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael. 2313 Report post Posted December 28, 2015 Excellent work Ben. nice ,. have some 10:1 compression pistons if you want to upgrade that bad boy How much sir? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BM WORLD 1283 Report post Posted December 28, 2015 Only a mare $120 ? 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
richard 384 Report post Posted December 28, 2015 do it Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
duvey 245 Report post Posted February 4, 2016 (edited) Picked up the head after a rebuild from Doug's Engineering. Cam rebuilt and reground by Franklin Cams. Cleaned out the head-bolt-holes on the block, ground down an old head bolt to act as a thread chaser. New HG on, all torqued down, no majors Edited February 4, 2016 by duvey 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
duvey 245 Report post Posted February 25, 2016 Engine moved to my home garage, and fully re-assembled. Using the m30 in the 7 series as reference Made up some custom hoses out out of a mix of m20 and m30 factory hoses. Lots of cleaning of parts Picked up a single mass flywheel from an e28 from Brent, along with a matching PP and clutch. Had them all reconned by Auto Clutch. Clean m30 pattern g260 Going in In! Time for beersies. Issues with steering linkage clearance - going to have to do something with the manifold. Brake booster clearance problems too. VW brake booster for some more rooms Just barely VW brake booster painted and installed - much better. More to come 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BM WORLD 1283 Report post Posted February 25, 2016 or try e28 e24 m30 manifolds? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
duvey 245 Report post Posted February 25, 2016 or try e28 e24 m30 manifolds? Internet says they'd be even more of a mission - but we both know how many grains of salt to take that kind of information with. I'm planning on reusing the e34 downpipes, so I think my best course of action will be to slightly extend the tubular section of the front header (maybe by about an inch), and correspondingly shorten the downpipe by the same amount. Sure i'll be in touch soon to see if we can find a front half of a driveshaft thats the right length out of the box, plus a washer bottle that i can wrangle in somewhere Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michael. 2313 Report post Posted February 28, 2016 Such excellent progress! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
duvey 245 Report post Posted February 28, 2016 Wiring all done, first start over the weekend with no majors. Throttle cable sorted using the e34 piece, Repaired my fuse box lid. Haha. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
duvey 245 Report post Posted March 1, 2016 Shifter linkage sorted, shifts all good. Just used the factory cradle and linkage from the 2.5 g260. Tidied up some wiring Shot of the engine mounts 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
duvey 245 Report post Posted March 29, 2016 Exhaust modified to avoid steering linkage. Swapped in a 3.73 med case rear end & axles. Poly diff bush. New subframe bushings. First test drive: Brakes are great w/ new booster - a bit firmer but lovely Clutch feels awesome Goes like a banshee One or two issues, primarily mysterious driveline vibration. Has to be driveshaft related based on a bit of trial and error. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olaf 3317 Report post Posted March 29, 2016 awe-soame! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
